Remember Grey Poupon? I think these rank among the best commercials ever made... the perfect send-up of the lifestyle of the rich and famous, while tapping into the public's desire to have the same level of status - which naturally can be obtained by using Grey Poupon mustard (with 'real wine'!). The squeeze bottle one has a crass scatalogical theme that spells advertising genius!
Calvin Klein built his brand by commodifying sex and selling it back to the public in the form of skintight jeans with his name plastered across the backside. It was a great strategy - simple, but effective - and back in the day (aka the 80's) people were genuinely scandalized an ad for cK Jeans featuring Brooke Shields crouching on the ground as the camera slowly pans her spread legs before settling on her face, as she coquettishly asks, " You wanna know what comes between me and my Calvin's? Nothing."
Another ad from the era has her lying flat, the camera tracing the curve of her legs and butt, her untucked shirt revealing a flash of midriff, and finally, her head reclining as a man tries to seduce her with flattery. Shields says, "My mother warned me about guys like you. Mama said he's only interested in my Calvins."
Skipping ahead to 1995, a series of ads featuring half-dressed male and female models, styled to seemingly appear underage, set off a shockwave of controversy amidst claims that the ads were meant to approximate child pornography, prompting an investigation by the Justice Department, the removal of the ads from the airwaves, and, of course, a priceless amount of free publicity.
Flash forward to 2009, and the it seems that although Klein is no longer at the company's head, its marketing arm still sees sales potential in shock value, hiring famed photographer Steven Meisel (the same man behind the wood-paneled ads) to shoot a new series, this time centering around an orgiastic scene on a living room couch.
The ad has managed to offend the usual suspects - decency watchdog groups, Christian activists, politicians looking to score points - but, really, when aren't these people offended. The question on my mind is, 'Does anyone else really care?'.
